Initial Expansion

Fr. Berard Tomassetti teaching in an outdoor school.

Kagua area southeast of Mendi to open a new station and second, Fr. Gregory was sent to Rabaul on New Britain Island to take a headmaster's course. Upon his return a new station would be opened in Erave where a central school for boys would be established.

In Ialibu, as more areas were derestricted, outstations were opened in all directions. This became possible as catechists from the Chimbu area were made available. Chimbu, on the

New Guinea side of the island, had been evangelized initially in the 1930s and then extensively after World War II. These catechists became the backbone of the expansion in the Ialibu area, and some also served in Kagua and Erave.

In the western part of the mission, Fr. Berard was making more and more contacts with the villages in the Tari basin. At the request of the government, he put to use his talents as a civil engineer and supervised the construction of a bridge over the Tagari River. This enabled the government to expand its operations to the west and at the same time open new fields for Fr. Berard. He made many contacts with the people, and in due course places like Pureni, Koroba, and Komo became main stations.